Dual Reckoning
"The divine record stands: dead to sin, alive to God—complete in Christ."
Based on the April 13 devotional from Abide Above
Photo Credit: Unsplash
This morning’s reading brings us into the quiet depth of a two-fold reckoning—one that relieves us from the tyranny of self and another that releases us into the vitality of Christ. The devotional doesn’t linger on behavior modification or the common plea for God to “make us better.” Instead, it reminds us that the finished work of the Cross is not something to be achieved—it is something to be believed.
L.L.L. explains that many believers live under a false premise: that self must be crucified daily through striving, self-denial, or effort. But the Word of God declares that self was already crucified with Christ. The only thing left is to reckon it so—to agree with God's verdict and live from that truth. This is not mental gymnastics but spiritual agreement.
And here is where the second reckoning comes in: we are not only dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That means our reckoning doesn’t leave us in a grave—it seats us at the right hand of the Father in Christ, complete in Him. It’s not a call to try harder, but to reckon rightly—to lay hold of what is already ours. As J.B.S. puts it, we do not begin with self, but with Christ, and from that anchoring, life flows.
This is the dual reckoning: Dead to sin. Alive to God. And not through effort, but through Christ.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture
You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. I am the One who buried the old man, nailing him to the Cross in My Son, so that sin shall no longer reign over you. You are no longer under law, but under grace.
Reckon it so. Not because it feels true, but because I have declared it. I do not ask you to die daily to what has already died; I ask you to believe. I ask you to trust that your old self was crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be rendered powerless.
And as you reckon yourself dead to sin, reckon also that you are alive to Me in Christ. You do not live from a hollow shell but from a full indwelling. Christ lives in you, and His life is your life. You are complete in Him, seated with Him, enveloped in all that He is.
Let your gaze remain fixed on the Son, who is the radiance of My glory and the exact representation of My being. From Him flows all wisdom, all peace, all power. The burden of self is no longer yours to carry; you are yoked to My Son, and His burden is light.
Do not patch up the old garments. Do not dress the dead. Live as one alive from the dead, for that is who you are. You are Mine. I have made you new. And I rejoice to see you walk in the life that My Spirit supplies.
Scripture references: Colossians 3:3; Romans 6:6, 11, 14; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:10; Hebrews 1:3; Matthew 11:30; Romans 6:4, 13
Prayer of Confidence
Father, I rest in the simplicity of Your completed work. I trust that the old me was crucified with Christ, and I now live by the life of Your Son. I rejoice that my burden is no longer to manage self, but to simply yield to Christ who lives in me. Thank You that I lack nothing in Him. May this day be marked not by effort but by abiding—by trusting Your Word above all else. I choose to reckon as You reckon. That is enough.